A Loss and a Return
by Construct Master
Summary: Aaron is resting by the beach, with his Luxray running free in the forest and his Meloetta humming by his side. Watching the fishing boats, everything is peaceful and content. But something starts stirring in the water, something that will destroy what Aaron holds dear... This is a oneshot, one written way too late at night.


**Well, this wasn't planned. About to go to bed, check my email, and someone is already following my Pokemon Story. And what does my brain decide? "You should write that oneshot you have floating around in your head." And I did.**

**(Note: This is the revised version. Because it was written so late, there were mistakes, which I have fixed)**

** One thing, I would recommend watching the anime to get an idea of how Meloetta sounds. **** It might help. ****And in my stories, Meloettas DO have genders. I'm not calling this legendary an 'it'. Read and Review!**

* * *

Down in the southwest of the Sinnoh Region is a small town named Sandgem Town. Sitting in a forest, it's a pleasant little place. Take a stroll south for a little while and you'll reach the southern coast. Here, the forest extends almost to the waterline, with a thin beach of little more than 10 feet as a barrier between wood and water.

It was at this place, right at the tree line, where Aaron had come every other day for the past year since he settled down in Sandgem Town. He came to relax, play, and give his Pokemon some free time. But at the moment, Aaron's companions had stayed home, and save for two Aaron was alone.

He sat with his back to an old oak, one hand behind his head, looking out to sea. The trainer was idly studying the fishing boats, pondering their movements.

One of the Pokemon who came with him, his loyal wingman and friend, Luxray, was released into the woods to do whatever he pleased. It was likely he was now running. Running down the shoreline, running among the trees, running through streams. The lion enjoyed slow walks, but even more he enjoyed speed. Few Pokemon could escape his electric charges.

The second friend was currently sitting with Aaron. Leaning against his side, this one was much smaller, but to Pokemon collectors worth a hundred Charizards: a Meloetta. She was another of Aaron's favorites. The legendary surpassed the relationship of a simple Pokemon and became a true friend, a best friend even. And like a friend, she was always there to provide support. And I do mean always; if Aaron was depressed and Meloetta was happy, he could look at her cheerfulness and feel just a bit better. If Meloetta was the sad one and Aaron the pleasant, Aaron almost automatically felt obligated to cheer her up. But there was little favoritism, Meloetta fought just like the rest of Aaron's team, though whenever she or Luxray fainted Aaron felt just a bit more of a pang in his heart.

Right now though, there were no battles. Aaron continued to almost subconsciously study the fishing boats, Meloetta resting her head against his side, eyes closed. Anyone not close would guess she was asleep, but right around her one could hear a soft hum resonating from the Pokemon. Everyone had heard of Meloettas as the Pokemon that sang, but with Aaron this one preferred simple humming. To her, it made it a little more private, a little more just for those she let near.

This was why Aaron came here. He knew his Pokemon were happy, and he himself felt content with the small head of Meloetta leaning against him and her quiet, sleepy humming contrasting against the ocean waves. Right now he felt like nothing could go wrong.

**(It's 1:00 AM as I'm writing this; I'm almost putting myself to sleep -_-)**

As he half-watched watched the fishing boats, his brain came back into play. Something didn't feel right. Meloetta's song and the water weren't the only sounds in the air now. It sounded like faint yelling was coming out from the ocean. Meloetta noticed too, her eyes blinked open.

"Eh-ta?" She said, waking up. "Melo, Meloetta?"

Aaron didn't move. "I don't know, Meloetta…Looks like those fishermen found something."

As the two continued to watch, the boats started moving away from each other. Suddenly, one of them was nearly capsized by a massive surge of water appearing beside it. As the spray fell back to the ocean, Aaron could make out a blue, snakelike body.

Aaron bolted up. "Oh gosh…That looks like a Gyarados!"

"Eh-ta!?"

The Gyarados charged one of the other boats, and his roar carried over to the beach as it succeeded in capsizing this one.

"Meloetta, can you send Luxray a psychic message?" The melody Pokemon shook her head. Aaron groaned. "Let me guess, too far away?"

Meloetta nodded, frowning. "Melo."

Aaron turned to his backpack. He had left it sitting near the tree. As he rummaged around in it, he found what he was looking for, his cell phone. Quickly dialing the emergency number, he started talking into the phone as soon as it picked up.

"Hey, this is Aaron Truman of Sandgem Town. I'm at the beach just south of the place, and I'm seeing what looks like a very hostile Gyarados attacking some fishing boats!"

Aaron could hear the operator on the other end yelling to someone: "We've got a Gyarados attack on the south beach! Get those Eelektross out there now!" The operator spoke into the phone. "Thank you sir, we have some guys on it now. I would suggest moving away from the area quickly."

"Meloetta…."

Aaron hung up the phone and turned to see what Meloetta wanted. He followed her stare and froze. The massive water-type had finished with the fishing boats and was looking for something -or someone- else to blast. Turns out that something would be those creatures he spotted on the shoreline. In other words, Aaron and Meloetta.

So now there was a rather ticked Gyarados hurtling through the water at Lord-knows-what speed towards them. Aaron turned to Meloetta. "There's no time to run now. Neither of you have type advantages over the other. Do you think you can fight him?"

Meloetta looked at Aaron, then at the streak of blue now only seconds away from them, then back to Aaron. She nodded, a look of determination now occupying her face. "Eh-_ta!" _

Aaron smiled, but that smile was immediately broken by a wave of water hitting him. The two turned to see a Gyarados about to slam into them. But before the impact could register, a burst of psychic energy from Meloetta pushed him to the side, derailing his attack and causing his girth to instead hit a tree. Aaron could hear the wood cracking as the impact sunk in.

The Gyarados reared back. Now that it had encountered resistance, calming down was not an option. It wanted a fight, and it looked like something was going to give him one.

But it wouldn't be easy. There may have been no type advantages, but Meloetta was a small Pokemon – and a hard target for something of Gyarados' size. Adding to the water Pokemon's frustrations was its constant disorientation and redirection, compliments of Meloetta's confusion and psychic moves.

Problem was, while these tactics kept Aaron and Meloetta safe, they weren't doing a whole lot of actual damage to the attacker, and Meloetta's energy would run out a lot sooner than Gyarados' health. Simply having to heft the Pokemon to the side was draining to the green-haired girl.

By now, Aaron had moved away a few yards to keep safe, but he couldn't leave Meloetta. There was no retreat – If Meloetta ran or was returned, it would give Gyarados enough of an opportunity to take the two out before they could escape.

As another of Gyarados' lunges was deflected, it realized it was getting nowhere. Changing tactics, the water type moved back a few yards and open its gaping jaws. A white light began to grow inside, sending bolts of energy around the Pokemon.

Meloetta watched carefully, trying to determine what it was doing. But Aaron realized what it was in seconds.

"HYPER BEAM! RUN, MELOETTA!"

Meloetta stared for a second more before turning and running as fast as she could towards Aaron. Aaron himself was dashing away. As the Gyarados unleashed its beam, it let out a massive, terrifying roar. Aaron looked back over his shoulder, and froze in terror.

The devastating attack was aimed not at him, but the little Pokemon who had been defying the raging Gyarados. Meloetta was only two yards away when the beam contacted with the forest. It positively vaporized the foliage in its path – and engulfed Meloetta.

As Aaron watched with horror riddling his face, Meloetta dematerialized before his eyes. Meloetta was still looking at Aaron with fear in her eyes as she let out a scream. And then she was gone, her face dissolved into dust.

The beam subsided, but Gyarados was still not satisfied. He started to charge another attack before something whipped past Aaron. A second later the Gyarados cried out in pain.

Aaron forced himself to move, and ran back to the source of the roars to find his Luxray hanging from the Gyarados' neck! Repetitively hitting him with thunder fang and crunch, he was biting into the snakelike beast with no mercy.

The Gyarados finally shook Luxray off. But the lion was immediately replaced by more electric attacks, this time sparking from the water. Aaron looked down to see multiple Eelektross attacking the Pokemon. Realizing it had finally been defeated, the Gyarados dived into the water with one last bloodcurdling bellow, before disappearing for good.

...

Aaron stared at the water for a minute, shocked at what had transpired in a matter of 10 minutes. He walked back, almost in a trance, to where the hyper beam had hit. A slightly steaming trench was dug in the dirt. Half-vaporized bushes and trees lay along its path. Where Meloetta had been, there was a black object laying alone. Aaron picked it up. It was the small headset-like hairpiece Meloetta wore.

Luxray pawed over to him, seemingly unhurt like falling from the neck of a Gyarados was nothing. Aaron's friend stopped when it saw what Aaron was holding, before whimpering a little.

Aaron sat down where he was, one hand absently resting on Luxray's head. The other held that same hairpiece. Though he was shivering from his wet clothes, to Aaron everything was numb.

Only 10 minutes ago, the friend who wore this object night and day was sitting next to him, quietly and contentedly humming a peaceful tune. Now, she was gone, simply gone. No body, no remains, nothing but this black, cold and hard hairpiece.

Aaron sat there, staring at that one piece of Meloetta and stroking Luxray's head. Just sat.

A tear fell to the ground.

* * *

Some Months Later…

The house was quiet. In the living room, the fireplace sat dormant, the couches empty, the tables clear. The door opened, and a teenager and a younger boy walked in, laughing. Following them was a Luxray with a Pikachu on its back. The two Pokemon seemed to be in equally good spirits.

The teenager spoke: "That's a great story! You really beat the Elite Four of Hoenn?

The boy smiled again and nodded. "Yep, me, Brock, and May. That was a heck of a time!" He turned to his Pikachu. The yellow mouse seemed to be having great fun running circles around Luxray, who watched lazily before occasionally snatching him by the tail. The Pikachu would squirm for a moment before he was let go.

Both kids laughed at the show; everyone knew who would win in a battle but no one really cared. The two Pokemon were content to playfully contest each other like equals.

The younger of the two boys said, "You know, Pikachu is a big deal to me. I got him only because the other starters were taken, but he's never left me since. He's always there to give me support. When I'm unhappy, he cheers me up. When he's unhappy, I want to cheer him up!

The teenager started a little, a movement not unnoticed by the other. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. You just reminded me of a Pokemon I used to have."

The boy smiled again. "Must have been a special one, to get that kind of connection."

"Oh yeah, she was special all right…." The Teenager's voice trailed off.

The boy got up and grabbed his bag. "Well, I better go. Dawn will kill me if I don't get back on time." The Pikachu wriggled free of the Luxray to climb on his trainer's shoulder.

The teenager stood too, shaking the his guest's hand. "It was great meeting you, Ash. Hope to see you soon!"

Ash grinned and returned the handshake. "You too, bye!"

"Pika Pika!" was the final thing heard as the door closed.

Aaron smiled at the door for a second before the grin fell away with a sigh. He walked over to the fireplace and lit the logs inside before picking up a display case on the mantle.

As he sat down on the couch, Luxray walked over to him and lay out at his feet, resting in the warmth of the fire. Aaron opened the clear container, one his visitor had failed to notice.

Inside was a picture frame, holding a picture of Meloetta. He pulled it out and stared at it for a minute. It had been taken at Mt. Coronet, when Aaron had hiked up to spear pillar. The picture showed Meloetta sitting on the edge of the pillar's plaza, looking out over the Sinnoh region. Aaron could still remember how beautiful it had sounded to hear Meloetta sing that day, alone on the peak.

Also inside the container was a disk and a black Pokeball with gold stripes. Aaron picked up and set aside the Pokeball, knowing it was empty. He then got up for a moment, arousing Luxray's attention as the Pokemon raised his head like an old dog. Aaron walked over to the CD player and inserted the disk, then hit a couple buttons on the device. He came back to the couch and took out the last item in the box.

A sweet sound began to fill the room. It was singing, though not quite human. Instead, this sounded melodious, like instruments put into a voice. Meloetta's song.

Aaron looked at the item he had just pulled out. It was all he really had left of Meloetta; that same hairpiece he had picked up from the smoldering remains of a hyper beam. Luxray got up and walked to Aaron, and nuzzled his head in his friend's lap.

Aaron continued to look at the device. Just as he had in that trench while the song continued to play. Just sat.

Once again, a tear fell to the floor.

* * *

The Next Morning….

Aaron got out of bed, ready for another day in his life. He got dressed, ate breakfast, and went to attend to his duties as the electric and ice type Gym Leader of Sangdem City. He had 7 challengers that day, 4 of which managed to beat him. He didn't mind losing today, they were clearly good trainers.

As he was rewarding his last challenger with his hexagonal gym badge, he saw a Gardevoir standing by his side. This Gardevoir fought well, and had ultimately been what finished Luxray using psychic. As the badge fell into the trainers hand, the Embrace Pokemon hugged the trainer, smiling joyously. The two left happy, not like lovers, but as friends who had worked together. The sight gave Aaron a bittersweet feeling. It was a sight that warmed his heart - and at the same time snapped it in two.

Aaron ran home, leaving his Pokemon in the healing machine kept at the Gym. He'd get them later. He burst into the house, paced over to the case on the mantle and took out the Pokeball inside. It was an Ultra ball, one he had kept reserved for a special Pokemon. That Pokemon was Meloetta. He looked at the Pokeball, before angrily throwing it to the ground with all the strength he had. The ball simply rolled away on impact, unharmed but for a scratch.

Aaron repeated the process with rage, the Ball mocking him with its resistance. He was angry, though not at any one thing. He was just like the Gyarados, having anger and needing something to direct it at. Finally, Aaron threw down Meloetta's ball again, but this time it landed face-down on the single button. The ball opened automatically. The black hairpiece, that little piece of Meloetta left dematerialized into red vapor before rushing into the ball. The Ultra ball snapped shut. On the button, three letters appeared.

FNT.

Aaron slowly reached down to pick up the ball, and studied it. The three letters worked their way into his head, before they finally registered.

FNT.

Faint.

"No…."

* * *

You thought Luxray moved fast? You should have seen Aaron as he made a mad dash to the Pokecenter. He burst through the door and ran to the desk. Nurse Joy stood in surprise; it wasn't often the Gym Leader would come to the Pokecenter; let alone at this speed.

She asked nervously, "Hi! May I help you?"

"Can you heal this Pokemon?"

Nurse Joy took the gold-striped Ball from Aaron's hand. Why where there scratches and dents all over it? "Sure! Just wait a second.."

The 30 seconds it took Nurse Joy to use the machine that healed Pokemon felt like 30 hours to Aaron. He took the ball from Nurse Joy's offering hand, and rushed out to the Gym.

Entering inside, where no one else would be for the day, Aaron looked at the ball in his hand the three letters had disappeared. Then, he pressed the button.

The ball opened. A red mist flew out, then settled and took form as a small, humanoid, green-haired Pokemon.

"Melo..Mel Eh-ta? Meloetta?"

Aaron just stared for a moment before grabbing her and pulling her into the tightest and warmest hug he'd ever given.

A tear fell to the floor, but a tear of joy.

* * *

…**Wow. I think missing a few hours of sleep was worth writing that. I have no idea what to think at the moment, like when you see a movie with an awesome ending. And I wrote it. I'm bragging too much.**

**I think that went really well. Just so you know, Ryan's Journey may be taken down. I realized I have some great oneshots in mind but nothing to connect them, like this. I still think I'll continue to write Pokemon, and I won't give up on the story when it's only a day old.**

**Also, If you didn't notice I really like the Shinx line. I'm playing through my first actual game, and one of my best Pokemon at the moment is a Luxio. I love him. (Note: Now he's a Luxray. Still one of my best!)**

**I'm going to get some sleep. Please Review!**


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